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Partners

The Office of Community Engagement is proud to have worked collaboratively over the years with over 100 community partners. They represent a variety of organizations established globally and locally. Browse these partner organizations sorted alphabetically, and we can work together to assess their current needs in order to get your classes engaged. Another list of the same organizations is available sorted by category.

Matchmaker

The community engagement "Matchmaker" is a tool to help connect faculty with community partners on the basis of real needs identified by staff people at non-profits in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Each organization, below, has identified ways our students can engage in the work of their organization through the context of their academic coursework. Read more about the organizations below, and click through to see opportunities the organizations have identified by academic discipline.

The Battered Women's Legal Advocacy Project (BWLAP) has established a reputation in Minnesota as a premiere legal resource for battered women and children, as well as those who work with battered women and children in the State of Minnesota. While our services are centered on the legal aspects of domestic violence, the range of our expertise is exceedingly broad. Therefore, each year we provide services to thousands of battered women and their advocates in areas including but not limited to: orders for protection, harassment restraining orders, housing assistance, immigration, child custody issues and stalking as it pertains to Minnesota Law. Here is a listing of opportunities to match UST professors and their courses with the work of BWLAP.

Breaking Free is a Minnesota-based non-profit and social justice/social change organization founded in 1996 by Vednita Carter. Every year, Breaking Free helps over 500 women escape systems of prostitution and sexual exploitation through advocacy, direct services, housing, and education. Breaking Free's main offices are located in St. Paul, Minnesota, with branches in Rochester and Minneapolis. Breaking Free's doors are open to women and girls throughout Minnesota. Visit this page soon for a listing of opportunities to match UST professors and their courses with the work of Breaking Free.

BrightSide Produce is an economically sustainable business model to address food insecurity in low-income urban neighborhoods. It is a partnership between the University of St. Thomas and Community Table Co-op, a local nonprofit. The core operation involves a team of neighborhood youth and UST students who have made regular deliveries to corner stores since 2014. This service addresses a major community need because traditional produce distributors generally do not provide viable options for corner stores in poor neighborhoods (they require minimum orders or have high prices). BrightSide’s innovation is that it overcomes a key challenge faced by many community initiatives—it funds itself. It does this by selling “leftovers” from corner store runs to UST personnel, and its activities add value to UST academic programs. BrightSide is truly a “win-win” program: it addresses food insecurity, it supports neighborhood youth entrepreneurship, and it helps university students develop the empathy they need to make lasting social contributions. Here is a listing of opportunities to match UST professors and their courses with the work of Brightside.

The Center for Victims of Torture works toward a future in which torture ceases to exist and its victims have hope for a new life. We are an international nonprofit dedicated to healing survivors of torture and violent conflict. We provide direct care for those who have been tortured, train partners around the world who can prevent and treat torture, and advocate for human rights and an end to torture. Visit this page soon for a listing of opportunities to match UST professors and their courses with the work of CVT.